


Battle of Fortune

by lavender coin (idyII)



Series: divergent paths [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Bisexual Qrow Branwen, Clover Ebi Lives, Gen, Happy V7, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:14:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24308785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idyII/pseuds/lavender%20coin
Summary: Qrow was tossing a strawberry up and down, like a baseball or something, and he snorted. "Yeah, right. I think it's been a solid two years since anyone even flirted with me."Clover's brain came to a screeching halt. He turned to stare at Qrow, frozen in place with the crate in his hands, and his next question came out as not so much a question. "What."Everyone seems aware of Clover's advances on Qrow Branwen except for Qrow Branwen himself, somehow. The General, the Ace Ops, the kids, Robyn Hill, random people they come across. He's always had good luck in romance, but his luck seems to have abandoned him now, since he can't seem to get his point across. And now everyone is pitying him. Great.Meanwhile, Qrow fully believes the gods decided to torture him by giving him a shiny new best friend that compliments him in every way and looks great in leather on a bike but isn't interested in men. For unknown reasons, his nieces seem very frustrated with him lately. Great.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: divergent paths [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751065
Comments: 18
Kudos: 154





	1. as far as we go

As far as things had gone so far, Qrow figured they were doing pretty well.

Jim was taking a strict half an hour every night to sit on the barely-used sofa in his quarters and do something boring like read, after Qrow had hounded him enough. He didn't want his friend falling into the throes of fear. That was what he was suffering from, when it came down to it; it wasn't paranoia like some people thought, he was scared. Qrow knew well enough; he was terrified himself every single day. At least James' eye bags had started to slowly recede since he'd agreed to try and not have a meltdown every other day.

He was even getting on well with Robyn, who was enjoying her new seat on the council. The actual election night had been a bit hellish, but they'd pulled through. First, Qrow had intercepted (who would have guessed) fucking Callows at her rally, having hung around just _knowing_ someone would try something, and though the Faunus had run off into the night, when the power grid went down the results were already clear. Robin had already coasted past an 80% vote, and since the majority of the population had already voted, there technically hadn't been any _way_ for her opponent to win. That was how they knew the election had been hacked when the power came back on and Jacques showed off a victory. Whoever had done it, they'd waited too long. After a few days of deliberation, the Council agreed to instating Robyn, saying the result was untrustworthy, and the man with a stolen name retreated with his tail between his legs as scrutiny came down upon him for the hacking. He hadn't left his manor in days, from what Qrow heard.

 _Speak of the devil,_ he thought, eyes alighting on the people he was thinking of as they emerged from a meeting room near Ironwood's office. It was only nine o'clock, so Qrow didn't mind not having to attend those himself; they were held way too ass early in the day.

Robyn was in the midst of saying something, gesturing with her hands, and James had gotten better at listening. She was a voice of reason Qrow thought they really needed at the moment. Currently, they were allocating a little bit of manpower (which meant his kids had volunteered for the majority of it) to installing public gardens in the city below. In Atlas, there were indoor greenhouses that could grow food of any season while staying insulted from the cold outside. Just that day, Qrow had gotten a laugh while watching Jaune and Ren stumble over themselves and nearly trip each other up while frantically moving crates for one of the older, snappier scientists who was overseeing the whole thing.

His eyes fell on the person walking behind them. Seeing James and Robyn being cordial made him feel good, but seeing Clover made him feel something far different.

_Kind of pathetic, Branwen. He's the most stereotypical person to fall for._

Clover caught his eye and sent him a grin. Qrow felt his stomach do something weird and unsteady it hadn't done for years. Of course the man had to have a smile that could blind someone; of course he just had to be _that way_. He was too good to be true (confident, kind, efficient, clever) on a good day; on a great day he could make Qrow want to climb him like a tree.

Qrow had researched him a little bit. He had a spotless career, almost no public image to be heard of other than relating to his Ace Ops status, no given relationships, was a top of the line Academy graduate, and the only thing relating to any sort of love life was a tiny tabloid speculating on whether he had a girlfriend once. Qrow was inclined to think that was the wrong direction, but Clover flirted with literally _no one_ and showed so little interest in people in general in that manner, always treating his colleagues with politeness in the mess hall or sparring sessions, and he was so Atlas-normal and work obsessed that Qrow could only come to the conclusion he was (probably) straight, as was usually the case.

To be fair, people who actually looked Qrow's way often weren't the greatest people. It was his shitty luck. Hoping Clover would was closer to a pipe dream.

Clover said something to James and Robyn, gave the General a relatively informal salute since no one else was there, and started walking towards him. He was still smiling. Qrow just stood there in the hallway, hands shoved into his pockets, waiting for him to get closer and hoping he didn't look besotted.

"Qrow," he greeted, as soon as he was close. "Good morning! Up before ten, today?"

Qrow rolled his eyes. "Yes, I decided to grace you all with my presence," he drawled, dripping with sarcasm.

If anything, Clover somehow smiled harder at him. "Well, I'm happy to be graced, then," he said with a wink, falling into step beside Qrow as he started walking towards where the hall led to the cafeteria.

That made it all worse. The guy actually seemed to like Qrow, was willing to be friends with him, and wasn't scared off by his bad luck (which may or may not be a bad thing; fate would yet decide.)

"You'll say that until you trip on a rag you didn't see."

"Come on, Qrow, just take the compliment," Clover told him, sounding more amused by the idea of himself tripping on a spare rag than anything. "I enjoy your company."

Qrow rolled his eyes again to avoid having to answer. He turned his face away to- hopefully- hide the red he could feel crawling up his neck. "How'd the meeting go?" he asked instead, purposefully being vague. He didn't know if there were any details James didn't want discussed with, well, everyone, or out in the open.

"Remarkably well. Far better, dare say, than if Mr. Schnee had gotten the seat. They're all actually getting along better by the day."

Qrow couldn't deny that made him feel even more relieved. "That's good," he said, eyes darting around when they entered the cafeteria. Breakfast technically started at 9:45 (which always made it easy to roll in after getting out of bed and sneak out quickly if he didn't want to risk being brained by Ruby or Yang- or worse, Nora), so hardly anyone was there.

He'd been planning on just grabbing something from the vending machine, but apparently everything opened early for Mr. Lucky Pants. A friendly face appeared behind the counter at the start of the food line. "Clover!" the attendant who ran the cafeteria, a stick-thin woman in her fifties with crow's feet and a stern expression most of the time, exclaimed. "You feeling hungry? I have that strawberry jam you like in stock today."

Qrow couldn't help his response to hearing the word 'strawberry.' He hoped Clover hadn't seen him perk up, at least.

Clover sent a smile his way before replying to her. "Thank you, Lynde. Think you could whip something up for my friend and I?"

He clapped Qrow on the shoulder when he said it, and the Huntsman tried to avoid thinking about it by instead staring at the far wall with a laser's level of focus.

"Sure thing," the woman gushed, which was frankly a little disturbing, because she was usually yelling at people not to break anything. "Go sit down, I'll bring it to you."

Clover grinned as he led Qrow over to where the Ace Ops usually sat, quiet since none of them were there. It was like the lunch lady in their Beacon days who'd seemed to hate every child in the world but Taiyang, who could ask her for practically anything and get it without any work. Mr. Perfect could charm anyone, couldn't he?

Lynde was still smiling when she brought two trays over, which was also a little off-putting. Their meals were the same, but Qrow noticed there was a bowl of sliced strawberries on his, which made the burning on the back of his neck increase.

"Let me guess," Clover said, because he'd probably noticed Qrow bought the same flavor of soda every single time, sounding amused. "Is that your favorite food?"

"Maybe," Qrow muttered, hunching over a little bit as he started to eat. "How in the world did you manage to get her to like you?"

"It's not difficult to get most people to like you," Clover retorted, with that damned smile of his, sounding cheekier. "Politeness and a good work ethic go a long way."

"Ah, so you _bribed_ her," Qrow said, just to be a little shit. The other man chuckled at him.

"I do run errands for her sometimes, but no, no bribing. You know what they say, kindness wins you good graces."

"Literally _nobody_ says that." Except for Clover. "I for one require more than niceties to give out my good graces."

Clover paused with a sliver of a pancake on his fork, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? And what would it take to get in _your_ good graces, Qrow?"

There he went again, sounding like something was funny when Qrow didn't know what it was. "Unimportant," Qrow replied, rolling his eyes.

"Do tell. I would hate to be on your bad side."

"Could you be on anyone's bad side?"

Clover grinned at him with something that was a little less cheeky, a bit more calculating. "You sure do avoid talking about yourself very well, don't you?"

Qrow rolled his eyes, yet again, and set to ignoring him as he scarfed down his food before it got cold. Clover seemed to drop the topic as he paid attention to his own food, but he was nothing if not annoyingly persistent, and he set to teasing him again when they were walking down the hall towards a garden he said had started to successfully grow strawberries. He looked quite pleased with himself when Qrow couldn't control his interest fast enough, and that made it more annoying.

* * *

Qrow Branwen was a bit of an enigma, which just made him more alluring.

Clover had delighted in a penchant for puzzles and riddles most of his life. He liked things that engaged his mind, made him think, were hard to work out. And Qrow, well, he was pretty much the ultimate puzzle in one convenient package: he was a legend in his own right, his record more impressive than most Hunters out there, and Clover himself had watched the man on television during his Vytal Festival at Beacon with something like awe. He'd had that bit of suave mystery to him even in battle. Now that he actually considered Qrow a friend, a friend who felt entirely too compatible and comfortable, it just made Clover want to hear every story he had even more.

"You really should talk about yourself more. I'm sure there'd be plenty of interested parties in hearing a few stories." Namely Clover, because he wanted to hear those stories one-on-one, not in a group, but he wouldn't say that.

Qrow rolled his eyes at him. What was that, the fourth, fifth time just in that hour? He was perched on a bench by a crate of strawberries, looking for one he wanted to eat. Clover had noticed that about him; he liked to sit in every possible incorrect way over sitting normally. Which lent itself well to having such extraordinary balance, because he didn't look even a little bit unsteady. Clover couldn't help but think, for a moment, of when he'd perched himself on the edge of his sword on their mission the day before. He folded himself in so gracefully, long legs flying elegantly when he swung himself off; perhaps that was also part of his allure, how easy on the eyes he was.

"I doubt anyone wants to hear about botched missions, hangovers, one night stands, incredibly shitty luck and babysitting duty."

A thread of interest arose in Clover. Qrow hadn't said as much as a peep about any romantic interests he'd had, so this was the first time he'd mentioned anything related to the topic. "Maybe you should set the record straight, then," he retorted, trying not to sound like he was leading the other man. "You have quite a reputation, you know."

"Oh?" Qrow raised a mocking eyebrow at him. "And what's that?"

Clover waved one hand. "Cocky," he said, making the other man smirk in amusement. "Brash, but with the skill to back it up. A little bit of a scoundrel, you might say. And plenty of people interested in the one night stand part."

That made the Huntsman let out a vaguely derogatory chuckle. "Oh, right, because I just have people knocking down my door."

"Being a recluse and a spy doesn't help," Clover shot back lightly. He tried to look casual as he moved a crate so he could sit down on the bench across from him. "What, you don't think anyone is interested in the one and only Qrow Branwen?"

He was teasing, now, very blatantly, but it was a little bit of a thrill for him. He and Qrow had exchanged so much teasing, he was sure that would get a reaction.

Qrow was tossing a strawberry up and down, like a baseball or something, and he snorted. "Yeah, right. I think it's been a solid two years since anyone even flirted with me."

Clover's brain came to a screeching halt. He turned to stare at Qrow, frozen in place with the crate in his hands, and his next question came out as not so much a question. "What."

That piece of the puzzle didn't fit. Because it really sounded like-

"What, it can't be that hard to believe. People are generally put off by me when they meet me. I doubt anyone who'd put up with me is on the horizon."

Clover's brain was still stalling. It tried, very hard, to catch up, and he vaguely noted he was still standing there, staring.

-It really sounded like Qrow had no idea Clover had been flirting with him for weeks now.

And he'd thought- well, he'd thought it had been clear enough, because he'd thought Qrow had been flirting back, but apparently...not.

His neck was rapidly starting to redden. He was pretty sure that _everyone_ had noticed by now- even General Ironwood, who'd rolled his eyes once when he thought no one was looking and then told Clover straight up when they were in private to flirt less in meetings, though he was fairly lighthearted about it.

It occurred to him then that Qrow may not like men at all- perhaps that was why he hadn't picked up on it- and if so, Clover had royally fucked up by making such a scene of it that everyone else knew about it.

But there was just _no way_ Qrow Branwen was straight, his brain insisted. Maybe that was just Clover's wish fulfillment talking, but everything from how the man spoke to how he moved just screamed that he wasn't. It was a _feeling_. And Clover's intention wasn't to stereotype, but he didn't exactly look the part, either, what with the little crosses dangling from each ear to the variety of other jewelry he wore.

"Actually, when I think about it, the last guy I slept with tried to kill me three days later, so I don't have great luck in the love department, I assure you," Qrow continued.

All the air exited his lungs at once. _Oh, thank god._ Qrow _was_ interested in men, he was just...extremely bad at seeing when other people were interested in him. Which made sense, now that Clover thought about it. The man seemed wrapped up in a long history of self-loathing and inferiority issues when he let any vulnerability show.

"Oh," he heard himself say, and he cursed how awkward he sounded. "That's unfortunate."

Qrow looked up at him, squinted a bit, and then shrugged, putting the strawberry in his hand down and climbing off the bench. "Anyway, not important right now. I think I'll head to the dorms. Ruby said something about going for a ride together last night. See you later, shamrock."

He shoved his hands into his pockets- which was an indicator of when he didn't want to talk- and strode away. _You should stop him,_ Clover's mind told him, but he was still holding the crate.

It was almost a minute after Qrow left that he managed to collect himself, and he could feel his face burning as he set the crate down back where it had been. _Nice job, captain,_ he thought, chastising himself. He'd probably made that needlessly awkward. Especially for Qrow, who'd finally said something about his past, no matter how small the detail. _Great._

He supposed he'd just have to ask more...overtly. Surely it couldn't be that hard, could it now?

* * *

"Uncle Qroooow!"

Qrow stopped in the hall, completely unsurprised that his little white lie about Ruby wanting to do something with him turned out to be true after all, and grunted when his niece collided with him. She hung off his arm, feet not touching the ground, and aimed a blinding smile at him. "Good morning!"

"Morning, kiddo," he said, ruffling her hair. "Wanna waste some time?"

"Always!" she cheered. Then, her expression turned to something more sly, as she eyed him looking like she knew something he didn't. "By the way, I heard you had breakfast with Captain Clover earlier."

Qrow didn't know where she'd of heard that from. Was anyone even in the hall? "Yeah, and, pipsqueak?"

"I also heard you went to get strawberries with him!" At his blank look, she started to pout. " _So?_ "

"Sooooo...what?" Qrow asked, totally befuddled.

"Sooooo, did anything happen?"

A furrow developed in his brow. "No?" What did she mean, had Grimm attacked them?

Her pout got deeper as she released his arm and dropped to the floor, giving his shoulder a light shove. "Uncle Qrow, you're so lazy." Lost, Qrow stared at her hoping she would start to make sense in a minute. "But I guess you can go at your own pace. Anyway, we should visit Mantle today! Everyone's been so busy with missions they don't want to go exploring, but you will, right?" She asked, with her patented puppy-dog eyes, which she knew he couldn't say no to no matter the circumstances. It had even worked on him when he was drunk once (though he had always tried to stay away while he was drinking, when they were kids, one time he'd woken up on a bench at the bus station nearest to Taiyang and Summer's home after landing there and she'd been poking at his face, having apparently toddled out on her own- which nearly gave him a heart attack, even drunk- after hearing her Uncle Qrow was coming to visit. She'd insisted on playing cat's cradle, so tangled up and extremely confused was how Taiyang had found him when he happened upon them.)

"Of course, pipsqueak."

"Yay!" she squealed, making him wince at her pitch. Her eyes were a little bit crazy, which made him think no one had entertained her intense urges to find something fun to do lately. Ruby took everything seriously, but she was a lighthearted person, like her mother, and from her perspective, there was probably a million things in Atlas and Mantle she wanted to do. "It can be a just you and me day! Let's go!"

He didn't have any missions that day, so Qrow had no problem following her. It would distract him from how cringe-worthy his conversation with Clover had just been. The man had looked so awkward when Qrow had said he'd slept with a man, he was worried he thought it was weird.

_Nice job, Qrow, fucking up your one new friendship._

Ruby had started skipping, and Qrow caught Elm giving them a bright smile as they passed her in the hallway, and he decided to stop thinking about it and let his niece distract him.


	2. lovesick

Mantle was by no means fully recovered yet, but the city had been doing much better as of late, to the point they'd started opening up some of the entertainment they were known for again and people out of work no longer loitered in the streets. Some now had jobs working on what they had been told was getting the CCT back online (which was technically correct, if just a little skewed from the truth) and the monthly stimulus from the Atlesian government certainly helped matters.

One such famous entertainment was their public festivals. It wasn't as grand as usual, but a large city square had been claimed for the day and food vendors were lined up around the edges while the inside was delegated as an ice rink. Qrow had thought that would be a pretty tame way to spend their time. He had been wrong.

" _Weeeeeeee!"_ Ruby screamed as she zoomed past him, twirling around so fast she was nothing but a blur of red. Yeah, at times Qrow regretted teaching her to skate, just a little.

He picked up the speed and sped towards her, catching her before she ran into the railing they'd put up. "Slow it down, this isn't a race," he said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice. "You might brain someone who isn't me."

She grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah! Well, at least everyone has their Aura, right?" At his eyeroll, she chuckled. Then, she caught sight of something over his shoulder and squealed loud enough for him to wince. "Uncle Qrow look! They have cotton candy!"

" _One,_ " Qrow said, holding up an index finger, well aware of what too much sugar did to her. "You get one."

She let out something that might have been a "yay" and grabbed his hand, pulling him across the rink. Gingerly, she stepped through one of the gates and onto the show, which was thick enough it barely even mattered they had ice boots on, and padded over to the cart she'd seen. Suddenly, Qrow was quite glad he'd brought a jacket. And made her wear one.

When it was their turn in line, she excitedly asked for the strawberry flavor, practically vibrating as she watched the server take a stick and start to make it for her. Behind her, Qrow rolled his eyes and made a vague gesture for the man to make it just a little bigger. He was still obligated to spoiling her, after all. Taiyang was the responsible one.

She looked overjoyed when they sat down on a bench and she took a taste. "It tastes just like the ice cream from Patch!"

Qrow couldn't blame her. How long had it been since they'd been home? _Home?_ Well, he supposed it was the closest thing to a home he had. "Oh, really?" he asked, reaching over and pulling off a chunk. "Let me judge."

It really _did_ have the same flavor as the ice cream he had bought for her way too often. It made him feel a surge of nostalgia, and for a moment, he wished he was sitting on that bench Taiyang had in front of the garden, even if it meant listening to one of his stupid spiels about how to properly _love_ the plants enough for them to grow. He wished they could be there, instead of...trying to save the world from a maniac.

That perfect, idyllic vision, where Yang and Ruby hadn't had what was supposed to be their fun years stolen from them and were still playing tag in the trees. Where Summer was wearing Taiyang's too-large strawhat that always sat lopsided on her head and watching them with a smile. And maybe where there was someone sitting on that bench beside him.

Qrow shook his head. There was no use dwelling on pipe dreams, he told himself. Especially not now. "We ought to get a hustle if we want to make that movie," he told his niece, whose mouth was currently covered in pink sugar. She raised an eyebrow at him, hand stopping in midair, as if he'd caught her stealing cookies from Taiyang's jar again, and he sighed. "Honestly. You are _just_ like your mother."

She giggled, and he counted it as a win. At least for one day, he just wanted her to smile and feel without the weight of some of that stress.

* * *

Qrow squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. They'd just come out of the movie theatre, after yet another silly monster movie he was surprised they were still showing (cities like Mantle had a _thing_ about anything horror-related; thought it would draw Grimm in) and Ruby immediately darted off to use the restroom. Probably because of the three giant slushies she'd downed.

He felt his Scroll buzz while he stood against the wall. Pulling it out of his pocket, he raised an eyebrow when he saw a message from Robyn, who'd somehow changed her icon to a bird with its tongue sticking out and his to a bird with grumpy eyebrows. She had neglected to do this to literally anyone else.

_Nice job, goth emo! You should slack off down in Mantle more!_

She'd attached a link. Rolling his eyes in preparation for what was to come, Qrow opened it and watched as a news article loaded. It was from The Hunt, a small web newspaper that was trying to give good publicity to Hunters that weren't Atlas soldiers and that had supported the Happy Huntresses in the past.

The headline read "STRQ Member Qrow Branwen and Niece Spotted in Mantle This Morning," and he resisted the urge to pinch his nose. That was what James did.

He didn't really _mind_ having his photo taken, they were in public, after all, but did he really have such bad luck that it happened to him instead of someone else, like Jaune on his daily crosswalk duties?

Okay. Never mind. There was a shorter piece on the sidebar about Jaune and his daily crosswalk duties.

The article practically waxed poetic about how cute it was that he took time to spend with his niece, along with several photos of them at the ice rink. One was of Ruby clinging to his arm as they skated across the ice, in the midst of babbling on about...well, he couldn't remember right now, but she did that all the time. Next was a photo of her laughing in his arms after he'd caught her when she'd begged to try a throw jump. Then there was a mildly embarrassing one of them both stuffing their face with cotton candy. She'd been _so_ caught up in the cotton candy he'd just went ahead and changed her shoes for her, and they'd taken a photo of that too, and it felt embarrassing somehow; not in the sense he was humiliated, just as if...someone had caught him changing his three-year-old's shoes. It was silly, hardly newsworthy.

He had to pause, though, when he realized how he looked in all of them. He couldn't really remember smiling, specifically, but in all these...he looked happy. When was the last time he looked happy? Felt happy? Qrow felt like he didn't even recognize his own smile. It may be the last chance he and Ruby got to do something like this in a while.

He quickly put his Scroll away when Ruby came back out. But later, he'd pull it up again and save the photos to his albums. No one needed to know about that.

* * *

Apparently Robyn Hill was, in fact, quite aware of his sad situation, and thought it was hilarious.

"Hey, loverboy," she said with a grin when she passed him in the hall, pausing to speak with him. "How's flirting with a brick wall going?"

Clover resisted the urge to groan. That wouldn't be professional. He settled on a polite, fake smile. "I'm not sure what you mean, Ms. Hill-"

"Oh, shut the hell up. I talk to him in down time, you know? He has noooo fucking idea."

Like she'd reached out with a needle and poked him in the forehead, Clover deflated and let out a small sigh. "Is it obvious?" he asked, sheepishly, as he rubbed at his neck. It felt like it was starting to redden.

Rolling her eyes, Robyn tossed her Scroll up and down in one hand, looking somewhere in between triumphant and pitying. "To me it is, but only because I talk to him. I'm pretty sure most people think you're an item with how you two act. _I_ did, actually, when I first met you."

Eyeing her, Clover tried and failed to curb his curiosity. "You two talk?" he probed, wondering if they were friends. If that question was linked to if Robyn could give him any advice, he wouldn't admit it.

Robyn snorted. She looked out the window, where they could see the rest of Atlas, and rested her other hand on her hip. "Sometimes. He comes to poker night occasionally." All right, so they'd had one short conversation in a hallway once where he'd made some quip about the General and that had sparked sending memes of said General's expressions back and forth, but Clover didn't need to know that. And, it wasn't as if they poured their hearts out to one another, but when her suspicion that he batted for both teams was confirmed she did feel a little more camaraderie with him, and at one point she'd asked him point blank _You like that Ebi guy?_ and gotten back a _I guess, but i think he's_ _straight_ so pitiful it made her feel secondhand embarrassment, she'd thought it was ridiculous to the point of hilarity. Qrow had also messaged her at 3 o'clock in the morning once desperate to ask her if she could give his little baby lesbian niece a pep talk on her love life, so she couldn't help but like him and his little lot. "I sent you a link, Ebi, check your messages."

She gave him the most mocking salute she could manage and turned to disappear down the hall. Brow furrowing, Clover rooted around in his pocket for his Scroll and pulled it up to see what she meant. Maybe her being so confusing was a testament to her being friends with Qrow after all.

* * *

"He seriously has _no idea_?" Elm squawked, disbelief sewn into her voice. "But- but you and him are so- but you- but he!"

"Yes, it does seem rather unbelievable, but stranger things have happened," Vine said in a voice more suited to accompany a twelve-hour rain in the forest CD, probably both to settle her and more the conversation beyond random exclamations.

A sigh came from the other side of their transport where Harriet was laying across the seats, one arm over her eyes. "Yeah, whatever, so Branwen has no idea you're flirting with him. Don't we have more important things to worry about?"

"Don't be so cruel, Hare!" Elm chastised, sounding a little bit distressed. "The Captain's happiness affects our missions! Which means this affects our missions!"

"Uh, I don't think it works like that."

"I honestly don't need your help with my dating life," Clover interrupted, brow still furrowed as he stared down at his Scroll. "I only told you because Elm asked."

Marrow tilted his head where he was leaning on the wall a few seats over and tried to peer at his Scroll. "What's so interesting? I don't think you've moved for five minutes."

Elm bent down beside him, which still felt like she was towering over him, and craned her neck to get a glance of the news article Robyn had sent him. Her eyes moved up and down the screen so many times it was like they were moving at hyper-speed. "Awwwww!" she gushed, clapping her palms together. "That's so cute!"

"What? What's cute?"

"Qrow and little Ruby Rose got into The Hunt! You know, that paper?"

"Oh yeah. I think my cousin was on there once."

Moving her arm, Harriet looked up and sighed when she saw Clover's pensive staring. She could see the reflection of the pictures from where she was, even if they were backwards. Stretching as she leaned up, she got to her feet and sighed, planting her hands on her hips. "All right, fine. I'm not a _total_ bitch. If you like the guy that much, why don't you just ask him out?"

Clover blinked. He finally looked away from the image that had caught his eye the most, one where they'd been skating together, both wearing blinding smiles, and looked up, which allowed Elm to crowd in more and start scrolling. "Well, technically..."

She rolled her eyes. "You have, technically, but he didn't notice, so be more obvious. Say what you MEAN." Clover raised an eyebrow at her, which made her sigh again. "What? I don't care about your- _ugh-"_ She looked away and pretended to gag, which was probably just for show. "- _Love-life,_ but I don't want you to be miserable."

"I am not miserable," Clover exclaimed, feeling he should defend himself, and they all gave him a dry look all at once. His ears burned. "I'm not! Trust me, I am much worse when I'm miserable."

Case in point, when his biggest crush in the Academy had turned him down and he'd spent three days in his dorm huddled under a comforter watching news reports about farming. That was him at miserable.

"I sense a story there," Marrow muttered, mostly ignored as he returned to a seat from where he'd been peeping at the article too.

Harriet shrugged. "Fine then," she said, relenting, and took on a tone that wasn't _quite_ as sarcastic. "Ask him out, and tell us how it goes. Can't be too hard, can it?"

Elm leaped up like Harriet had let out a call for battle and pumped her fist, eyes shining with a light that was, frankly, a little terrifying. "Yes!" she yelled, looming again. "Tell us how it goes!"

"All right, all right," Clover gave in, holding up one hand. "I'll ask when we get back."

She turned away from him, nearly braining Vine with the handle of her weapon since she whipped around so fast, looking like she'd won a game. "Yes!" 

Clover rolled his eyes fondly. Elm was most excited, probably because he knew her the longest; they hadn't been in the same class, but they'd known each other since the Academy. And the others, well, they _were_ only colleagues, but he appreciated the offer to listen. No one had ever said teammates couldn't support each other off the field, after all. And they weren't exactly friends like say, Team RWBY, but a little more friendliness between them, he figured, wouldn't hurt.

His eyes drifted back to the picture Elm had left his screen on. Most of them were of Ruby and Qrow, and they _were_ , as the article said, cute, but this one had been taken from a vantage point somewhere off behind the bench. He could only see the back of Ruby's head, but Qrow had looked over his shoulder, at something in the sky, wearing a small smile with a look in his eyes Clover had never seen. It was...nostalgic, maybe, or content, maybe even relaxed.

Clover had only seen a tiny portion of the expressions the man could make. He'd seen him smirk, smile a little bit, but not grin like in these photos. But, gods above, he wanted to see every smile Qrow had. He wanted him to smile at _him_. He wanted to see him looking contented, relaxed, happy, and maybe a little bit because of Clover.

He moved down to a few more random pictures the photographer had taken. Qrow had stopped at the edge of the ice rink, at one point, to help a little girl that had fallen down. In one she looked close to tears, but in the next Qrow had somehow made her start giggling, and was in the process of helping her up.

He wasn't stupid; he knew Qrow had probably some unsavory things in his past and in particular in relation to his previous alcoholism (yes, Clover had noticed how tense and uncomfortable he got when liquor was around) but Clover's hunch was he'd always tried to hide it from his nieces. He wasn't even Ruby's biological uncle, according to the files, but he'd been around enough for her to get so attached to him. It was...heartwarming, the care he carried with himself when it came to people- kids- who needed someone, even if just for a few minutes.

(And perhaps, it made him more perfect; Clover had been in very few relationships, but some of them had been broken off because the others involved simply didn't want kids or worse, actively disliked them, and maybe Clover wanted a family. Maybe deep down he was a little desperate for one. That was an issue for another day.)

 _Oh, I'm so lost,_ he thought, a bit chastising towards himself. That was always his thing- he fell too quickly and too deeply and before he knew it he was much too invested. But something told him this was one to gamble on.

Again, maybe it was his own wish fulfillment talking, because he _really wanted_ to get a taste of Qrow Branwen, but maybe, just this once he'd be lucky in a way that really counted. He couldn't help it; Qrow seemed to have it all. He was gorgeous, maybe (definitely) the most skilled Huntsman in their outfit, cunning, playful. He was so _sweet_ with his nieces. It was ironic, since he seemed to have such a low opinion of himself sometimes.

He didn't save all the pictures- he thought that would be a _little_ creepy- but he did bookmark the page to look at again later. And he made a mental note, too, that maybe he ought to try and get to know those nieces a little more, and they may have some insight to the inner workings of their uncle's brain that would help him.


End file.
